Shutdown
by TalisTheIntrovert
Summary: When Walter's sister dies, everyone reacts differently. Paige knows she needs to be there for Walter, so she calls Drew in to take Ralph for the night. (Epic speech between Paige and Drew - completely obliterates him). More Waige from Chapter 2 onwards.
1. Collapse

**Hey guys. I adore Scorpion, and I'm a huge fanfiction lover, but I haven't had the time to post any fics yet. This was my first Scorpion attempt that I was willing to post. Please review and if you have any suggestions for other fics I can write, or for this one, please let me know :)**

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On the day when Walter's world collapsed, he had no idea it was coming.

He woke up, as usual, ate breakfast, as usual, and went straight downstairs to work on whatever project he was supposed to be working on – as usual. When Paige arrived, he glanced her way and tried to stifle the small part of himself that made his heart leap when she smiled at him. Toby and Happy arrived shortly afterwards, still bickering about something or other, possibly Happy's new boyfriend, although Walter found himself struggling to care about it; he was used to their arguing by now, it didn't really matter what the topic was anymore. Business continued as usual for the next hour or so and he eventually turned to his rocket, time shuffling slowly on as he prayed that Cabe would arrive with a case.

"Hey." Her soft voice was right behind his ear and he scolded himself for not preparing for her approach.

"Hey." He turned, wrench still in hand, grease on his forearms. Her eyes quickly darted down and took in the dirt on his muscled arms before flicking back up to his face.

"Uh, have you seen Sylvester?" She murmured softly, leaning in conspiratorially, not even realising she was doing it.

"Uh, no, but I presume he was staying the night with Meghan at the hospital, so." Walter shrugged and smiled awkwardly.

"Well that's… nice." Paige said, trying to banish the image which had sprung up from the gutter residing in her mind.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Walter acknowledged as he turned back towards his project. He tried to seem nonchalant as he noticed her hand had been resting on his arm until he'd turned. She slowly withdrew her fingers and he shook his head, rubbing his face to regain his concentration. He became dimly aware of Paige wandering away to answer the phone as he slipped back into the zone of focus he'd been in before she arrived. He didn't notice as the phone stopped ringing, or as Happy and Toby fell quiet. He didn't notice as Paige started to cry softly, or that all three of his friends were now staring at his back, wondering how to tell him that he'd failed.

"Ma'am? Are you still there? Have you located Mr O'Brien?" Paige suddenly remembered that the phone was still in her hand and she stared at it in horror. Much as she couldn't imagine telling Walter herself, she couldn't fathom how this random woman telling him would make it any better, but somehow she made her feet carry her to his side.

"Yeah, Paige, w-what do you want?"

"Uh… Walter… I'm…" Paige's eyes filled with tears again and she swallowed, "Walter the hospital is on the phone."

"What!?" He turned suddenly, almost knocking the device out of her hand. She locked eyes with him and he shook his head, but she pressed the phone into his hand and took a small step back. He lifted the phone to his ear.

Paige couldn't do it. She wanted so badly to be there for Walter, but she couldn't stand by his side while he was informed of his sister's death. She couldn't watch the light in his eyes die, the focus completely fall from his being. She couldn't watch his heart break. She just wasn't strong enough.

Before she knew it she was on her knees beside her desk, collapsed and unable to breath, trying to block out the sounds of Walter's bellowed denial. She saw Toby's feet disappear from view but Happy's were coming closer and then her arms were enveloped by the other woman's and both of them sat together in silence punctured only by Paige's sobs and Happy's ragged breaths. They didn't know where Toby took Walter. They didn't care. They knew Walter was not okay, but they also knew that Toby was the ONLY person who could talk Walter down right now, what with Paige out of commission, unable to even move.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, sorrow pouring out of Paige in waves, Happy struggling with her feelings as pain, as it always did, manifested itself in rage. After what seemed like years, Happy's arm retracted from her shoulder and she nodded.

"It's okay Happy. Go." She whispered.

Happy went.

 **##SHUTDOWN##**

Toby took the stairs two at a time. When he arrived at the bottom, Happy was nowhere to be found and Paige was hiccoughing through her tears. He hesitated but decided to press on anyway.

"Paige? Paige, can you hear me?"

Paige nodded slowly, eyes squeezed shut.

"Okay, so Walter's upstairs. He's, uh, he's not okay, I think we all know that, but he's… uh… look, he's in a lot of pain and he's coping with it the only way he knows how – to shut off his EQ. Now, I think you and I both know that is not a healthy way of dealing with things. I know you're upset as well but you're the one who brings out his EQ, you do it better than anything else. It would really help if you stayed here tonight."

"And do what? Cry at him, make him hurt more?"

"No. Paige, no, you're stronger than that. You don't even have to go up there unless he refuses to eat, or starts breaking things – you've seen his guilt in action Paige; last time it drove him off a literal cliff, and I don't want to wait around for what will happen this time. You can ground him, make him acknowledge his feelings when he's ready to. You can do it, Paige, because you're amazing." Toby finished, inwardly quite proud of his little speech despite the pain that was gnawing at his insides. He could cry later, but right now his friends needed his psychological expertise, so for now, he needed to be strong.

"What… What about Ralph?" Paige's breathing slowed.

"How long would it take Drew to get here by plane?"

"Four hours, why?"

"Perfect, that's just enough time. By the time Drew gets here, Ralph will nearly be finished school. Drew can pick Ralph up and they can spend the night together." Toby smiled reassuringly.

Paige wiped the way the last of her tears, "Okay," she said, sitting up drawing in a huge breath, "where's my cell?"

 **##SHUTDOWN##**

Four hours later, Drew walked into the Garage with Ralph in tow, mildly annoyed and silently lamenting the game he was missing in Portland. Ralph ran out from behind him and Paige wrapped him in a tentative hug. Her eyes were slightly red and her cheeks were blotchy, but other than that, there was no sign that she had been crying – she may as well have a hangover. It didn't go unnoticed by Ralph but he decided to ignore it if she didn't bring it up and turned his head as his dad approached.

"I was gonna just take him straight to my hotel room, but he said he left his favourite microscope here, and I figured maybe I could borrow your apartment key to get him some spare clothes."

"No need, Ralph's got clothes here, don't you baby?" She said and Ralph sped off towards the back.

"Do you two spend a lot of nights here?" Drew inquired.

Paige raised an eyebrow, "I'm really not in the mood for questions like that today Drew, so tread lightly."

Happy and Toby walked in from the side, leaning heavily on each other, and froze behind Paige.

"Well, all I'm saying is, you call me down here to take care of Ralph for the night, for some kind of emergency, but you won't tell me what it is –"

"Because it's none of your business." Paige interrupted, her tone hardening.

"And then I find out that Ralph could have stayed here the night, as he has done so in the past, so I can't help thinking…"

Toby and Happy looked at each other, "Don't be an idiot Drew. Don't say it." Toby whispered.

Paige wasn't having it. She turned and started to walk away, but Drew raised his voice, "Are you and Walter dating?"

Paige froze.

"Is that why you called me to babysit Ralph? Because you wanted a date night with Walter?"

"Oh no he didn't." Toby and Happy breathed in unison.

"Oh yes he did." Paige growled. Her hands balled into fists and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't turn around. She gathered her thoughts as Ralph came skipping back into view. Happy and Toby speedily grabbed Ralph, making up some excuse about new equipment. It didn't matter. She knew they'd just be watching from somewhere else in the Garage; they walked off to protect Ralph from the supernova that was about to explode.

She spun around to face Drew, hair whipping across her face as she did so, arms crossed tightly in front of herself as she slowly and deliberately took a step towards the father of her child.

"Okay. You want to do this? This is how it's going to go down. You're going to just listen. And at the end, you can take Ralph and spend the night doing whatever you want. But first, I'm going to speak, and you're going to keep your mouth closed, okay?"

Her tone was icy and there was no smile behind her usually cheerful eyes, so Drew shut his mouth and nodded.

"Firstly," Paige glowered, "Walter is not my boyfriend. He never has been, despite your fixation on him. Maybe one day he will be, but that will still be, as it has always been, NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS."

She took another step forward.

"Secondly, if I WAS dating Walter, and I wanted to leave Ralph with someone for the night, I wouldn't call my ex who lives in Portland. I'd ask Happy or Toby or Sylvester or…" Her voice trailed off. She had been going to say Meghan, "Point is, I wouldn't have called you. I called you first tonight, because Ralph is going to need someone, and I can't be there for him, and neither can anyone else on the team."

"Why not?" Drew asked.

"Shut your mouth Drew." Another step.

"Thirdly, I cannot believe you're being so ungrateful about getting to spend the night with your son, who, if I remember correctly, you were absent from for over seven years. Pardon me for assuming you might want a little extra time with your child."

"But –"

"Shut. Up." She took a final step closer and Drew was forced to move backwards to create space between them.

"The real reason I am staying here tonight is because this morning, Walter's sister Meghan, who we all love very much, succumbed to MS. Walter was crushed. And he wasn't the only one. I've spent two hours crying, Happy broke her hand punching out her anger, Toby sat with Walter through his grief when I couldn't, and Sylvester… Sylvester is… beyond devastated. I don't even know how to DESCRIBE the kind of agony that Sylvester and Walter are feeling right now. Last time Walter was this emotional, he drove off a cliff and nearly died. I'm staying the night to make sure he survives."

Drew was overcome with guilt and sorrow and opened his mouth to take back everything he'd said when Paige spoke again, "Did I miss anything?" The question was not for Drew, but her eyes never strayed from his face.

"No sweetheart, I don't think you did." Cabe said, standing beside Happy and Toby who had all re-emerged behind her. He walked forward but Ralph arrived at her first.

"Mom," His eyes were wide, "is it true? Is Meghan really gone?"

"Oh baby," Paige knelt down, tears falling again, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear it that way."

"But is it true?"

"Yeah it is baby, I'm sorry. She died this morning."

Ralph nodded slowly and leaned in to hug his mother. She kissed his forehead and then stood up. "If you want to take care of your son tonight, I suggest you make up your mind."

Drew nodded, "Paige, I –"

"No, I don't want apologies or excuses. I just want you to take care of my son because he needs you. Because Walter needs me and I can't leave tonight."

Drew nodded again and grabbed Ralph's hand, "Come on buddy, you got what you need? Good. Let's go get some ice-cream, okay?" The two of them walked back the way they had come, and suddenly Ralph broke away and ran back to Paige.

"Take care of Walter, okay?"

"I will, I promise." Paige ruffled her son's hair and watched as he sprinted back to his dad. As soon as they were outside she slouched into a nearby pillar, exhausted. Her friends were at her side in seconds, but she waved them away, "Sylvester needs you guys."

Happy and Toby nodded and grabbed their things, "You sure you'll be okay here?"

"Yeah, guys, I'll be fine."

Cabe sighed, "Pass my condolences onto Walter, will you?"

"Yeah. Sorry we couldn't help with your case."

"It's not important. Are you sure I can't stay and help Walter?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Apologise to the director for us."

She closed her eyes, and flinched as Cabe brought her into his arms, but she soon relaxed and hugged him back. He kissed the top of her head, like he would have when his daughter was alive, "Sorry kiddo. I really am."

Paige just nodded into his shoulder. When Cabe finally left, she found herself staring at Walter's closed door. She considered climbing the stairs, but she was just too tired. If he needed her, he would call, Toby had told him she was staying. Right now, Paige needed to sleep.

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 **So there it is - the first chapter. A bit sad, but that was the mood I was in. I'm thinking 3 to 4 chapters at most, but please review and let me know :)**


	2. Shockwave

She was woken by loud noises coming from the direction of Walter's rocket. Her eyes cracked open, but it was still pitch black. As she adjusted to the sensation of waking up, she became dimly aware of how dry her throat was. Then the events of the day walloped her so hard all the air went out of her lungs. She sat up, panting, and pulled at her hair, trying to calm herself down. Something banged behind her and she swivelled to see Walter fiddling with his rocket, deep in thought. His face was oddly calm, eyes focussed, arms unshaken. Paige didn't like it.

"Walter?"

No reply. She stepped closer.

"Walter?"

Still nothing.

She rested her hand on his arm, but he barely reacted, continuing with his work like she wasn't there. Was this the fabled Rabbit Hole she'd heard so much about from Happy? No. It couldn't be. This was similar, but rather than being triggered by a complex problem, it was triggered by an influx of EQ that Walter didn't want. Toby had warned her that he would shut down, but she hadn't quite realised just how much. She moved her hand from his arm to his shoulder, and he flinched slightly.

"Walter? Please, you're scaring me." She whispered.

He ignored her.

"Walter, I can't help you unless you let me in."

His eyes flicked over for a fraction of a second, so fast she wasn't sure it had even happened. There was silence for a few moments and then, "I don't need your help. I'm fine."

Despite herself, she breathed a sigh of relief. If she could get him to respond, he might be able to get better. It was a slim hope, but one she clung to.

"Walter," She needed to keep using his name, if not for him, then to calm herself down, "If there's one thing I've learned about you, it's that whenever you say you're fine, you're usually the exact opposite."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"Walter –" He cut her off by walking to the other side of the rocket and shaking off her hand. She looked at the space where he used to be. She could give up. Just let him deal with it in his own way. But she knew that wasn't right – he needed her. He needed to let the EQ in, much as he hated it, or he would end up self-destructing. So she followed him to the section of the rocket he was working on.

"When was the last time you ate, Walter?"

No response. Of course.

Paige nodded to herself and decided she would force feed him if she had to. She presumed he hadn't eaten since Toby left and that was over 10 hours ago. She strode to the kitchen and began cooking soup from a tin. She glanced Walter's way, but he was still deep in thought, oblivious to her.

When the soup was finished, she poured it into two bowls and put them both on the table.

"Walter? Walter, I made soup, okay? You need to eat."

"I'm fine, thanks." His reply was coarse, sharp. She exhaled through her nose in frustration. How to get him to the food? She reached over to grab his arm but once her fingers made contact with his elbow he blanched like it was a cockroach touching him and not someone trying to help. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled the one person she knew could help.

"Hello?" A woman's tired voice trickled through the speaker.

"Happy? What are you doing with Toby's phone?" Paige unconsciously raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… We fell asleep at Sly's."

"Oh. How is Sly doing?"

"Not good, but he's sleeping for now."

"Could you put Toby on please?"

"Paige, it's 2am. He's asleep."

"Could you wake Toby up and then put him on please?"

"Wow, that bad, huh? Okay, give me a sec." There was some rustling down the line and Paige turned away from Walter. She couldn't keep staring at his… blankness. It was uncomfortable to look at, like staring at the sun, or trying to open your eyes in salty water, or staring at the TARDIS through a perception filter. She held her breath as she heard the phone change hands.

"Yeah, Paige, what's up?"

"It's Walter, he's…" Paige paused, "I don't know, he's… blank. He just got up and started working on the rocket. I tried to talk to him, but the only response I got was that he doesn't need me. I tried to touch him and he acted like I'd just rubbed dog crap into his arms."

"Oh crap."

"What?"

"Walter's completely shutting down. All that progress you made with him is gonna rewrite itself if you don't find a way to make him acknowledge his feelings."

"How am I supposed to get him to acknowledge his feelings if he won't even let me touch his hand?"

"Uh… okay, okay, give me twenty minutes. I will talk to Happy, then get back to you, okay?"

Paige ended the call and walked back to the kitchen. She sat down and started eating her bowl of soup, hoping that Walter would follow her example, but he remained fixated on his project.

"Walter?"

Nothing.

"Walter, please?"

Blank.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" She whispered to herself. She didn't notice as Walter's eyes flicked towards her. He heard her quiet desperation and his heart tugged, arms dropping slightly, but the mechanics took over and his features hardened again, his arms returned to efficient speed and his heart, or what was left of it, shut out Paige's pain as well as his own. His mind rallied against his emotions, and as it used to before Paige came along, his willpower won. He was devolving, but he didn't notice that. He just noticed the dull ache of loss begin to fade as the mathematical problems came into full view.

Paige's phone broke the silence with a shrill beep. She picked it up.

"Paige, I have an idea." 

"Okay?"

"You're not gonna like it."

"Okay?"

"Look, we need to make him face his emotions, which means we need to trigger an emotional response in him."

"You're right, I don't like where this is going."

"I think you should talk about Meghan. Make him look at pictures, listen to her voice, remind him of her life, and her death. Make Meghan occupy his whole mind, and don't let anything else in. Block him from the rocket, make him focus entirely on his grief. It sounds cruel, but you need to shock his system with an overload of EQ. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best that I can come up with at 2am after the death of a friend."

Paige was quiet for a second before she replied, "Can you guarantee it will work. Because I don't want to hurt him if it's not going to work."

"Paige, I can't guarantee anything with a mind like Walter's. But this is our best shot, at least for now."

"Okay." Paige hung up. She rummaged through Walter's desk until she found his phone. She unlocked it and thumbed through his photographs. When she found one of Meghan, she tentatively approached him.

"Walter? I just… I'm so sorry. Okay? I just wanted to tell you now, that I'm so unbelievably sorry. She didn't need to go like that. But it wasn't your fault. It wasn't. I promise you Walter, it wasn't your fault." She held up the phone to Walter's face and his features softened, grief beginning to show through, "and Meghan wouldn't have let you keep wallowing in something that isn't your fault. Would she?"

Walter screwed his eyes shut and rubbed his neck. Paige stepped closer and grabbed his wrist, forcing his phone into his hand, "Look at her, Walter. She would hate to see you like this. She loved you."

Walter's hand was gripping the phone so tight she thought he might smash it, and she stroked his arm from his wrist to his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"Walter?"

"Please…" Walter muttered, "Please, don't make me do this."

"I'm so sorry Walter. I'm so sorry. But you have to."

Walter's eyes flew open and locked with hers. They were standing so close now, but neither of them was uncomfortable, and the silence wasn't weighted with what could happen, because both of them knew that with Meghan gone, now was not the right time for stolen kisses. Their hearts were both too occupied with grief to allow any other heightened feelings in.

It occurred to Paige that she was being a hypocrite. She was trying to get Walter to acknowledge his feelings, but she felt completely numb inside; she probably couldn't even cry if she tried. She had shed every possible tear and now she couldn't feel anything except the chill that came with her frozen soul, petrified from the agony of emotion. It was times like these that she wondered if Walter's way was better. Then she remembered what Toby said.

"Walter. Look at her."

"No." The response was choked, but not with tears. Walter was balling his hands into fists and her hand slid back down to his wrist, trying in vain to make him relax.

"Walter. Please. Please, I'm sorry, you need to do this."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, you'll never move past this. Meghan will haunt you forever, like a failure, a problem you couldn't solve. But she wasn't a problem you couldn't solve. She was your sister and she loved you so much. She wasn't a failed experiment. She was a human being – human beings die, Walter. We just do. Unfortunately we can't all die when we intend to. Meghan didn't want to die before you; hell, she didn't want to die at all. But she had to, because we all have to," she turned to science to help, "Someday, our bodily functions will all begin failing. Someday, our lungs will no longer let us take in oxygen and our brains will die. But if you don't start eating, and drinking, and feeling, your death is going to be before mine." She choked, finally tears were coming again.

The droplets splashed down her face and she saw Walter flinch at the raw emotion she was showing, "and I… I couldn't take it Walter. I couldn't take it if you died. Please… Please, just… let me in."

They stood there for a long time, her hands wrapped around wrists, Meghan's photo glowing blue between them, tears soaking into her clothes and eyes boring into each other.

"I can't." Walter said, and pulled away, turning to walk away, but she gripped tighter and her nails sunk into his skin.

"Why the hell not?" Her voice hitched and rose.

Walter spun back around, angry now.

"Because I'M NOT LIKE YOU PAIGE! I can't just FEEL things whenever I want. I CAN'T. I can't do it! I don't know HOW!"

"Well then let me help you." Her tone softened but he was still angry, "Please, Walter, let me help you, because it's killing me to see you this way."

"What could you possibly do!?"

"Look at her, Walter."

"No."

"Look at her."

"I can't, Paige."

"Walter, listen to me. She was your sister. But she's gone, and you need to acknowledge that, or you're never going to be able to move on. Meghan is gone."

"No." His eyes were filling with tears now and her heart began to crack further.

"Walter. Meghan is in your hand. She's gone, but she will always be in your memories, and on that phone. Just look at her."

"NO!" Walter tore his arm from her grip and flung the phone into the wall. It shattered on impact and he dropped to his knees, unable to stand. She let his arm drop beside him and then knelt until she was level with his face.

Paige put her hands on his cheeks and he grabbed her wrists. She thought he was going to push her away again, but instead he just gripped her arms, face scrunched in grief, breaths ragged.

"Paige-" He couldn't continue, but he didn't need to. She leaned against his forehead and the two of them sat there until the sun came up and Toby and Happy arrived.


	3. Quicksand

**Oh my gosh guys, thank you all so much! I can't believe I have so much support for this story! I really appreciate all of the feedback. I got a wonderful review from someone who said that the Waige shouldn't come until the later chapters, but for me, Waige isn't just romantic tension between Walter and Paige, it's also the little things - like how she's the only one who can calm him. The whole show is Waige for me. Please review because I love reading all of the amazing feedback. I love you all.**

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When Happy and Toby entered the Garage, it took them a while to find their friends. They considered calling out, but just in case they were asleep, calling out didn't seem like such a good idea. So they tiptoed around desks and peeked around corners until they nearly fell over Walter and Paige, kneeling behind the rocket. Paige's wrists were being clutched tightly by Walter, who was slouching as though the sky was too heavy to hold up anymore, eyes shut to avoid seeing a world without Megan in it. The position Paige was sitting in looked uncomfortable, but she didn't let it show; the only sign that she wasn't relaxed was her pursed lips, but that could very well have been because of her heightened emotional state. Toby sat down on the concrete and Happy crouched beside them, being careful not to put weight on her broken hand, which was now in a brace.

"Are you guys awake?" Toby whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Yeah." Paige said as she blinked the sun out of her eyes. Unconsciously, her hands stroked the sides of Walter's face, and she pulled away slightly, but left her hands in place.

"Are you okay?" Happy patted Paige's leg, attempting to show some kind of muted affection.

"No." Paige stated simply. There was no point trying to make it seem better than it was. Walter was destroyed and she was exhausted and drained. Neither of them was okay.

"Walter?" Toby tried, "Buddy?"

"What do you want, Toby?" Walter opened his eyes and muttered through gritted teeth, hands slowly releasing Paige's arms. Paige did her best not to appear relieved at the sudden liberation of her arms, but she couldn't help letting a small sigh slip through her lips as she shook the blood back into her fingers. Walter glanced at her sharply, but he let it slide and turned to Toby.

"Can I do anything?" Toby looked tired, but Walter looked like the waking dead.

"No."

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"No."

Paige shook her head and tried pulling Walter up from the floor, "Yes you do; you haven't eaten in over 24 hours." Walter was a dead weight, so she tried another tactic, "Lack of sustenance depletes brain function."

Walter sighed and looked up at her through his dark lashes, before slowly rising to his feet, "Fine."

Paige forced a hollow smile and all four of them shuffled to the kitchen. The world felt heavier, like the clouds were packed in a little too tightly above them. The atmosphere just felt wrong; it felt like the air pressure had changed without warning, but all of them knew it wasn't anything to do with the weather. Paige felt sorry for the geniuses. They probably had no idea what true anguish felt like before yesterday – they definitely had no idea just exactly how physically the emotion manifested itself. If she were to describe exactly how they must all feel, she would say that her shoes were filled with lead and her heart had swapped places with her stomach. She would say that everything felt like it was covered in cling film and the light hurt her head, but not in the way she was used to. She would say that grief felt like an anchor trying to attach the top of her head to ground below her feet, and only succeeding in weighing down her limbs and making her lungs tighter. She would say that it felt like a room filled with smoke and absolutely no fire – everything dim and hazy with not a trace of the glowing embers in sight.

"Cereal?" Toby asked.

"Whatever." Walter said, but Paige and Happy both nodded. Toby began pouring out the bowls and Paige noticed Walter's cold soup still sitting on the side. She couldn't take her eyes off it, fixated on something which, in her mind, abruptly became a symbol of Megan's death. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply through her nose but the feeling wouldn't go away. For some reason, if she didn't get rid of that bowl, something horrible was going to happen. She just knew it. Her breathing quickened and her knees buckled. With her hand on the bench to steady herself, Paige took a hesitant step towards the bowl before Toby threw himself haphazardly in front of her.

"Paige. Paige! Can you hear me?" Toby clicked his fingers in her face and she snapped back to reality.

"Yeah." She swallowed, but the anxious feeling in her stomach didn't go away and she still wanted to smash the bowl.

"Paige. Paige! Focus! Are you listening? You're having a mild anxiety attack, which is totally natural, but if you don't calm down soon it's going to turn into a full blown panic episode, okay? Can you focus on your breathing for me? Paige?" Toby kept clicking until she nodded and started breathing more carefully. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arms-length, making sure to capture her eyes with his, "Paige, what was it? What triggered the anxiety?"

"The bowl. I don't like the bowl." She pointed under his arm and he nodded.

"You know that the bowl can't do anything, right?"

"I just… I can't have it there. I can't know that it's there. It's freaking me out." Her voice began to reveal traces of dismay again, so Toby turned, grabbed the bowl and tipped the soup into the bin. He began to wash the bowl in the sink and when he was done, he put the bowl down directly in front of Paige.

"Does it still freak you out?"

"A little."

"Okay." Toby moved the bowl closer to her. She reached out for it and picked it up. After a moment of observing the bowl and trying to quash the butterflies in her stomach, she looked up at Toby and he nodded. Without a second thought, her fingers slackened and the bowl went spinning from her hand, smashing into thousands of pieces on the floor.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah." Paige said, and sat down next to Walter, who had already started his breakfast. He seemed unperturbed by her act of annihilation, simply staring at his hand as it brought mouthful after mouthful of food up to his mouth. She put her forearms down on the counter and began to eat her own cereal. After her third mouthful, she noticed Walter leaning slightly towards her. He pressed his forearm against her own as he brought his last mouthful up to his lips. When he dropped the spoon back into his bowl with a clatter, he used the noise as a distraction while he quickly grabbed Paige's fingers. She looked over, but he was still staring down at his other hand, and if she hadn't just seen him move, she could have sworn he was unresponsive again, but she felt it as he gripped her fingers, and she squeezed them back. Toby stood up to wash the dishes and Walter immediately dropped Paige's hand before Toby could see. He pushed back from the table and walked away from the three of them without looking back.

"He just needs time." Toby murmured.

"Yeah, how much time?" Happy said, "I already miss arrogant, jerky Walter. I would prefer that version of him to… this; whatever it is."

"I don't know how long it will take him Happy, but I can say with absolute certainty that Paige is definitely helping."

"What? Seriously? I thought I was doing terribly." Paige sighed.

"Paige, if you weren't here, Walter would still be catatonic, staring at his rocket, refusing to eat and probably contemplating taking a lot of undue risks. You calmed him down and made him responsive. Even if it doesn't feel like a victory right now, it's so much better than I had hoped for last night."

"Yeah, but…"

"I know it doesn't look good. But eventually, he'll be fine," Toby grinned, "Oh, hey, is Ralph coming back today, or is Drew taking him for a bit longer?"

Paige cursed under her breath and quickly dialled Drew. "Hey, do you want me to take Ralph back? Yeah, you can take him back to Portland if you want, as long as he's okay with that. No... No I don't think so… Well, thanks… no… Yeah, okay. Was he okay last night? Okay… Is he okay this morning? Okay… okay… alright. Yeah, that should be fine." Paige sighed for the umpteenth time and slid her phone into her pocket.

"Ralph's going to Portland?" Toby asked.

"Yeah. Drew wants him for the rest of the week."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Hmm. I suppose so." Paige said sceptically, "He's bringing Ralph by to say goodbye in an hour."

Toby nodded and Happy grabbed an apple from the side and wandered towards her side of the Garage, "Hey Happy, please try not to break your hand again?"

"I don't intend to punch things this morning, Doc, unless you get too handsy."

"Define **too** handsy?"

"Shut up Toby."

"Yep, shutting up now." Toby smiled sheepishly at Paige and saw her concerned look, "Sylvester is okay."

"How did you know I was going to ask that?"

"Because I'm Toby," He paused while she rolled her eyes, "Sylvester is probably doing better than Walter right now. He's obviously crushed, but I think because of his over-emotional state, he's much more used to dealing with emotions like these, although maybe not this severe. So of course he's devastated, but he'll recover faster than our boy up there." Toby gestured at Walter's bedroom.

"I don't like this Toby."

"Yeah, and I'm really enjoying the events of the past few days." Toby raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean… It feels like it's going to get worse."

"That's just the anxiety talking. You should really keep an eye on that, because unchecked anxiety results in panic attacks, and you don't want one of those."

"Yeah I know. I'm okay, I just… don't like this."

Toby gave a small smile and put his hand on her shoulder briefly as he walked to his desk and sat down. Paige cleaned up the kitchen and then flopped on the couch and closed her eyes. She only intended to rest, but the next time she opened her eyes it was because Ralph was waking her up.

"Oh, hey baby," She sat up and gave him a hug, "How was your night? Did you and Drew have fun?"

Ralph nodded, "Yeah, we got ice-cream and then I showed him all of the components of my microscope. He wants to take me to Portland for the week."

Paige glanced up to see Drew leaning on a pillar by the door, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. She looked back at Ralph, "Do you want to go to Portland?"

"Yes." Ralph said hesitantly.

"Baby? What's up?"

"Do you think a week is long enough?"

"Long enough for… you to stay in Portland?"

"Yeah. Would it be more favourable for me to go for two weeks?"

"Why would two weeks be better?"

"I'm not sure that one week is enough time for Walter to recover."

Paige froze, staring at her son with a mixture of astonishment and sorrow. She pulled him in for a hug and he didn't object, wrapping his arms around her. Drew had said over the phone that Ralph had been fine overnight, but it was only now that Paige realised that Ralph was upset about Megan, he just didn't want to show his dad. She squeezed him tighter and whispered into his ear, "It's okay baby. It'll be fine. And I just want you to know, that Walter is going to be fine. He'll miss you this week, but you're right. It's going to take longer than a week for him to recover."

"Then maybe I should stay in Port –"

"No baby, after this week, Walter's going to need you. Because he loves you, in his own way, and he would hate to think that you were staying longer in Portland just to give him some space. After this week, it would be more beneficial for you to be back here, so you can make everything feel like normal again. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ralph nodded into her shoulder, she stood up and they both walked to Drew.

"You look horrible." Drew said.

"Thanks."

"No, that's not –"

"I know what you meant, Drew. Keep my baby safe for me this week okay?"

"I won't let you down Paige."

Happy, who was listening from her desk muttered, "That'd be a first." Paige heard her and struggled to contain a giggle, but Drew hadn't noticed, so she pursed her lips and smiled as she walked Ralph to the car. She waved as the car rounded a bend and disappeared from view, but the sinking feeling was back and she couldn't help but notice the anxiousness tugging at her belly, warning her that something bad was going to happen. She tried to shrug it off as she wandered back inside, but the more steps she took, the harder it became, like walking through quicksand.


	4. Single Point of Failure

**Okay, so I always use quotes and songs to inspire my writing, and I don't know about anyone else but if I'm listening to a specific song or artist while writing a chapter, I have to keep listening to that person until the story is finished, otherwise my focus snaps and I lose the zone. Anyway, point is, when I started this fic, I was listening to Shawn Mendes's album** **Handwritten.** **It's amazing, and the lyrics are really poignant, so I thought I would actually add his influence into the story this time. I hope you like it** **AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR AMAZING REVIEWS! YOUR'E ALL SO WONDERFUL. I hope you enjoy this one, I enjoyed writing it. I even made myself cry.**

* * *

Paige couldn't think clearly. Her brain was too mixed up and her heart was racing. It had been three days since Ralph had left with Drew, and today was the day of the funeral. Drew was bringing Ralph back down for the afternoon, but Paige was apprehensive. She didn't want to burden her son with everyone else's pain; because after all, isn't that what funerals are for? Sharing your burden? But Drew had agreed that Ralph needed some closure, so he was going to be down at lunchtime. She checked her watch.

"Paige, the second hand has moved 14 notches since you last looked. Ralph will get here when he gets here." Toby said.

"I know, I just… how's Walter?" Paige hadn't seen much of him since he'd held her hand three days ago, but she knew that after his breakdown that day, it was probably best if she gave him some space, and Toby had agreed.

"He's fine. He hasn't done much except sit and stare at the wall, but at least he's eating."

Paige had been leaving plates of food outside his door, and though he never came out while she was there, the next time she walked up, it would be empty. She was worried about him. She'd never seen him this withdrawn. But she trusted in Toby to know what was best, so she didn't press the matter.

"Mom?" Ralph ran up to his mother and she ruffled his hair.

"Hey baby, how're you doing?"

"I'm okay. Dad's annoyed."

"Why?"

"He doesn't think that the plane tickets should have been so expensive."

"Oh," Paige laughed, "Well, he's right, but I'm sure he'll get over it."

"Well, actually, if the airline wants to make a profit, then the tickets need to be that expensive, because 30% of the money from each ticket will go towards fuel and general upkeep. 15% will go towards flight attendant wages and –"

"Ralph, you didn't say that to Drew, did you?"

"Yeah, I was explaining how the tickets were actually cost effective and it was more efficient than driving across the country."

"Oh baby," Paige pulled Ralph into a quick hug, "I don't think Drew wanted to know that."

"Do you think he's annoyed at me?" Ralph asked, suddenly worried it was his fault.

"No, Ralph, he's just stressed." Paige looked up to see Sylvester stumbling into the Garage, tears pouring from his eyes, "We all are."

She left Ralph by the couch and approached Sylvester. He grabbed her and brought her into a huge bear hug, sobbing heavily into her shoulder. She squeezed her arms around him and he clutched her tighter, allowing grief to ride on the waves of tears out of his eyes. Paige felt her shoulder becoming damp and slowly tried to extricate herself from his tight grasp. He didn't move.

"Sly, if you don't release Paige soon she's going to collapse." Toby said, carefully avoiding any words associated with death or injury.

Sylvester dropped Paige and she gasped for air. She checked her watch as her breathing returned to normal.

"Okay everyone, time to go." She said, "Is Walter coming with us?"

"No, I think he's going with Cabe." Happy said matter-of-factly, "I don't even know if he's in the garage."

"Well, where else would he be?"

"No idea." Happy shrugged and Paige's face fell further, but she put on what she hoped was a brave expression and walked to the car. Drew gave Ralph and hug and walked to his own car, probably going to see a movie or get some lunch far away from any graveyards. Once everyone had piled in they all drove, in complete and utter silence for the first time ever, Sylvester's pitching sobs the only sound punctuating the weighted quiet. Tears were trickling silently down Paige's face, and when she looked over, she saw that Happy's face was contorted in anger, and Toby had his eyes scrunched up. Ralph was the only person who looked fine, and Paige knew he wasn't. She reached across the gearstick and held his hand as she drove. She wasn't sure how much good it was doing until she tried to lift her hand and Ralph gripped it tighter.

"Ralph, baby, I'm just changing gears," She said, and he released her. She twisted the gearstick and quickly moved her hand back to Ralph's lap.

By the time they arrived at the cemetery, everyone was a mess, and she knew that no amount of water resistant mascara could take that much of a beating from her eyes, so she excused herself to the nearest bathroom. When she came out, Ralph was holding Sylvester's hand and Happy was leaning on Toby, who was gently holding her broken digits.

Megan's gravestone was simple, small, but elegant – like her. The words under her name said, _"When you stumble, make it part of the dance."_ Something Paige had heard Megan say was her favourite quote, because all she did was stumble. Tears welled up again and she gripped the bottom of her blouse, crumpling the neatly ironed fabric.

They stood on the left of the coffin, staring at it blankly. On the other side were a few nurses from the hospital and some of Megan's friends, all of whom were sniffling and wearing black. Scorpion wasn't wearing black – Megan would've hated that, so Sylvester insisted. He was wearing his Super Fun Guy shirt, the one that Megan had loved so much. Paige was wearing a yellow blouse and a skirt, Happy was wearing her usual leather and jeans number, and Toby was holding his hat in his hand. The coffin was slowly lowered into the grave and someone cleared his throat.

A man and woman were standing in front of everyone else. They were crying on each other, and the man nodded, "Thank you all for coming. We loved our daughter. We cannot believe that she is no longer with us on earth, but she is still here. We can feel her presence, and she is looking down on us from…" The voice faded as Paige realised that the geniuses were all internally shaking their heads in frustration, because they knew she wasn't hovering angelically above them, she was gone. Paige shook her head clear and refocussed, but by the time that she was paying attention again, Megan's parents had stopped talking and everyone was staring at the front again. She turned around to see Walter standing at the head of her coffin, eyes red; hands shaking in his pockets.

"So… uh…" He swallowed, "So, I've heard it said that it's customary for speeches at funerals, but I was never good at speaking about feelings. That was what Megan was good at. She, uh… she grounded me in more ways than one. She was… uh… sorry," he gulped again, "she was spectacular. Everything I wished I could be, and she was definitely too good to have me as a brother." He pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and in it was the charm bracelet he'd taken as a keepsake so long ago.

Paige reached for Ralph's other hand.

"I stole this from Megan, when she was younger. She had a particularly bad episode and I thought I was going to lose her. So I took this as a keepsake, just in case I needed something to remember her by. I always hated that I felt compelled to take it, because I never believed in sentiment like she did. I spent hours that day pretending to look for her bracelet with her, all while knowing that it was in my back pocket, and she would never find it. She was so upset, but I don't regret it at all. Because I know now why I took it," he took a deep breath, "I took it so that my final act as her brother could be to give her back her bracelet – to make her happy one last time, even if I couldn't save her. I love you Megan. I know you wanted me to keep it in the end, but I don't need a charm bracelet to remind myself that you were alive," he glanced at Paige, "because you'll always be in my memories, and on my phone, and in my head, reminding me that sometimes having emotions isn't such a bad thing."

He dropped the charm bracelet and it went tumbling into the grave, end over end, tinkling as it did. He stepped into place beside Paige as Sylvester approached the front.

"Two weeks ago I tried to explain to Megan the concept of time being relative. Time as a fluid concept as opposed to being linear. Basically, if you ignore the idea of time moving in a linear motion – one event at a time – it becomes a muddle mess where everything is overlapping and happening at once. I ended up giving up and just letting her watch Doctor Who," everyone laughed and he smiled despite himself, "but I've been thinking a lot about that in the last few days. Because if time is linear then it means I've lost you forever." He was talking to the grave now, "but if time is relative, then it means that right now, I'm meeting you for the first time. It means I'm helping you dance, because that's all you ever wanted to do. If time is relative it means I'm fumbling through the words "I love you" and holding your hand because you're scared, or refusing to go to a Super Fun Guy movie set because you need me to be with you when you wake up from a scary procedure. It means that Walter is stealing your bracelet and you're yelling at me for being a coward. I means that you'll never ever be gone. And that is something that lifts my heart. I love you Megan." Sylvester folded up his speech and threw it into the grave.

It was Paige's turn. She stepped forward and smiled. "Megan loved music. She always wanted to sing along to songs with me. We had so much fun together. So I thought I would sing a song that reminds of me Megan. And Walter."

Walter's eyes caught hers again, but she took a deep breath and then she was singing;

" _I watch your troubled eyes as you rest,  
_ _And I fall in love with every breath.  
_ _Wonder if those eyes are really shut  
_ _And am I the one you're dreaming of?"_

Megan's parents threw a handful of dirt onto the lid.

" _Cause underneath the darkness  
_ _There's a light that's trying so hard to be seen.  
_ _And I know this cause I've noticed  
_ _A little bit shining through the seams."_

Megan's nurses handed some more dirt into the coffin.

" _And if this is what it takes,  
_ _Then let me be the one to bear the pain.  
_ _Oh if this is what it takes,  
_ _I'll break down these walls that are in our way,  
_ _If this is what it takes."_

Megan's friends threw CDs and photos.

" _You keep on telling me I'm wasting time,  
_ _But to call it wasting time oh that's a crime.  
_ _And you think it's crazy what I'm trying to do.  
_ _Well baby, I'm a fool for you."_

Happy leaned down and placed a metal rod on top of the dirt. "I told you I could make better crutches."

" _Cause underneath the darkness  
_ _There's a light that's trying so hard to be seen.  
_ _And I know this cause I've noticed  
_ _A little bit shining through the seams."_

Toby was next, "I love this hat. But I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you." And he chucked it into the grave.

" _And if this is what it takes,  
_ _Then let me be the one to bear the pain.  
_ _Oh if this is what it takes,  
_ _I'll break down these walls that are in our way."_

Cabe knelt down and smiled sadly, gently filtering his handful of dirt through his fingers, reminded of a time when he'd had to do that for his own daughter.

" _Cause if you don't understand yet  
_ _Then I'll never let you forget  
_ _That you don't have to do this on your own.  
_ _I'll be your shoulder to lean on.  
_ _I'll be your right when you feel wrong.  
_ _So come on, take my hand, we're moving on."_

Sylvester and Walter walked forwards at the same time, Walter's arm around Sylvester, supporting him.

"Goodbye Megan. You were loved."

"You STILL ARE." Sylvester choked.

 **" _And if this is what it takes,  
_** ** _Then let me be the one to bear the pain.  
_** ** _Oh and if this is what it takes,  
_** ** _Then I'll break down these walls,  
_** ** _These walls that are in our way.  
_** ** _If this is what it takes."_**


	5. Ricochet

**Hey guys! How are you all? I might be getting a little bit slow with chapter updates from now on, because I've got some serious study happening, but I am fairly close to the end of this story. Walter is getting closer and closer to a breakthrough. Please review, because I love all your amazing feedback. I love you all; enjoy. :)**

* * *

As the last note of the song escaped through her lips, Paige felt all the remaining energy go out of her and she slumped. Before she knew it, Cabe was supporting her shoulders and Ralph's hand was back in hers. She squeezed it and looked down at her son. There were tear tracks down his cheeks and she fell to her knees in front of him, bringing him in for a hug. Cabe's hand never left her shoulder, but then someone was pulling her to her feet. She looked up to protest, but it was Walter, and he was staring at her, entirely lost for words for one of the only recorded times in his life. They both stood there, so close to each other, barely touching, and when he opened his mouth to say something, she felt her strength returning. But just as he was about to speak, his parents walked up behind him.

"Walter." His father said gruffly.

Walter's eyes widened fractionally but otherwise there was no hint that he was uncomfortable. He unconsciously reached for Paige's hand and she complied as he turned around, "Father. How are you, Mother?"

It didn't slip Paige's notice that he was being stiff and upright, and the fact that he had barely acknowledged his dad.

"I'm okay dear. I've been preparing myself for this day for a very long time. We all have." Walter's mother had a lilting Irish accent, and her hair was pulled in a tight bun. She was the same height as Walter, and was the picture of a loving mother. His father was less… homely. He was taller and bigger than Walter, and he had the airs of someone who'd never been forced to do anything against his will.

"Some of us were more prepared than others." Walter glanced towards Sylvester, who was sitting on the grass ten feet from the grave, being comforted by Happy and Toby. Cabe gave Paige a look before walking over to Sly. Paige stepped forward, but Walter kept the hand holding hers behind his back, so she was forced to stand very close to him.

"Hi. I'm Paige, I work with Walter, and I was friends with Megan."

"Yes dear, your singing was beautiful," Walter's father said, "what do you do with Walter? You don't strike me as one of his type. You're not coarse or unsociable, and you clearly understand the expectations placed on you to be respectable."

Paige opened her mouth to respond and then found that she had absolutely nothing to say. She closed it again.

"Paige is our liaison. She helps us geniuses work out the expectations placed on us to be respectable." Walter gave one of the forced smiles she'd seen many times before; barely a smile, more of a grimace, and his mother bit her lip, looking between the two men.

"Yeah," Paige found her voice again, "My son Ralph is a genius like yours, so Walter and the team help me with Ralph and I help them get cases and give them a more personable image."

"Oh that's lovely." Walter's mother smiled at her, and Paige felt a small semblance of relief that Walter's mother was being genuinely nice to her and Walter. She peeked at Walter's father, but he was still staring daggers at Walter, "Is this your son?" The woman asked, kneeling to greet Ralph.

"Yeah." Ralph said, tears gone, "I'm Ralph. It's very nice to meet you. Walter hasn't mentioned you, but I'm sure you're a very nice person." He held out his hand. Paige winced.

Walter's mother just chuckled and shook it. She grinned up at Paige, "He's so much like Walter was at that age. I'm sure he'll do amazing things, just like my boy."

"Or he could turn out like Walter in other ways; stealing from important governmental agencies and putting everyone around him in danger." Walter's father appeared to be joking, but there was a bitter edge to his voice, and Walter put a protective hand on Ralph's shoulder, moving slightly in front of him. It didn't escape the nervous eyes of his mother, or Paige, who both found themselves hiding smiles.

"So how are you going to proceed from this point?" Walter changed the subject, trying to find level ground.

"I don't know. I've never been in a position where I've lost a daughter before. I lost my son years ago, but then I'm not sure he was ever really here to begin with." Walter's father spat. His mother put her hand on his chest and stepped between them before Walter could respond.

"Don't you dare," she was whispering, but her voice cut through the air like a knife, "Don't you dare do this today. Our daughter died. Megan hated the way you and Walter didn't get along, do you think she would want this at her funeral?" Her words seemed to shake her husband out of his blind misplaced rage, and he took a step back, hands up in the air in surrender, and walked away.

"Oh Walt, I'm so sorry, I thought…" She trailed away, tears filling her eyes, but Walter shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, it's not as if I wasn't expecting it."

"Why would you be expecting it, on today of all days? He shouldn't be that way, at least for today."

"He blames me." Walter stated simply.

"What are you talking about, of course he doesn't blame you."

"He could never connect with me. The only thing I ever did that he approved of was looking into MS research for Megan. But I failed to save her, and so he blames me. It's okay Mother… Mom." He corrected himself quietly, the word feeling unfamiliar after so many years of underuse. Megan had always called her Mom, but Walter could never quite make the word fit properly in his mouth, "Mom, it's fine. I'm okay."

His mother looked at him in sorrow and pity, "Oh sweetheart," she put her hand on his cheek and he froze, "you know that you don't have to be okay all of the time, don't you?" She kissed him on the forehead and smiled at him, "It's okay to admit that you're hurting." Without another word, she turned and walked in the direction of her husband, who was standing at the edge of the cemetery.

Walter suddenly became aware that Paige was still standing very close to him, and he quickly let go of her hand. She withdrew slightly and he immediately felt her absence, and then felt a twinge of guilt as she rubbed the circulation back into her fingers. He must have been clenching her hand really hard. He reached out for her hand, "Sorry."

She let him look at her sore fingers, "It's okay Walter. I'm fine."

"You're starting to sound like me," Walter chuckled softly, but when he looked at her, she couldn't meet his eyes and he realised that that was exactly what she sounded like. She sounded like Walter trying to deny that he felt his pain. So once he'd made sure there was no lasting damage to her digits, he clasped her hand in his and moved closer to her. She didn't feel that usual beat skip when he touched her and it made her panic, how numb she felt, but she tried to push the feeling down, just like she had done with the bowl of soup. It wasn't working, and her breath caught in her throat. She tried to swallow it down but it was silently choking her. Walter felt the sudden shift in how she was carrying herself and put her at arms-length. Ralph stepped out from behind Walter and looked up at his mother. She took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"It's okay baby, how about you go and check on Sylvester. It really helped him that you held his hand, maybe you should ask to do that again." She ruffled Ralph's hair and he ran off towards their friends.

Walter looked worriedly at her and she found herself growing frustrated at him. He shouldn't be worried about her, he should be addressing his own feelings.

"Paige? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said automatically.

"Paige." The concern in his voice was palpable and she frowned at him through her panic.

"Of course I'm not okay." She scrunched her face up and tried to slow her breathing, but nothing was working, "You're not either, so why are you allowed to get away with saying you're fine and I'm not?"

"Paige, I…"

"No, Walter, you're not okay. None of us are okay. You don't have to be the team leader all the time. It's okay to have feelings, remember? Megan wanted you to keep that bracelet to remind you that you can be human. You don't need the bracelet for that Walter. You just need to acknowledge to one person how you're feeling." She gestured absently towards Megan's grave. Walter clammed up and she squeezed his hand, "I'm not saying you have to talk about it to Toby or Cabe or even me, but maybe you should talk to Megan."

"Megan's gone. My parents are wrong, she's not watching down on us. Why would I talk to a grave, when I know that she's not really listening?"

"Oh, I don't know Walter, because it's cathartic? Because thousands of people do it every day, and it helps them cope."

"Yeah, well I'm not like other people."

"No… no you're not. You're right, I'm sorry." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. He scratched the side of his face, unsure how to advance the conversation. Before he could do anything though, Paige unexpectedly stepped forwards. She leaned her head on his shoulder and stared down at the grave of her friend, the grave of Walter's sister, and she felt completely empty. Walter's hand instinctively found itself at the back of her neck, and the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer and resting his cheek on her head.

"No, I'm sorry. You're right about me, I'm not okay. But Sylvester is worse off than me, and you're struggling as well. How is it fair for me to not be okay when everyone else needs more help?"

"Walter… we don't need more help than you. We're all dealing with it in our own ways, you're is just different, not less valid."

Walter tucked his head in closer and closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the warmth that her contact usually brought him, but like Paige, he was ice cold and heartbroken. He thought the cold was just a lack of EQ. What he didn't realise was that it was the EQ that was causing it to begin with.

####SHUTDOWN####

Across the cemetery, Walter's mother had just finished properly scolding her husband. She had convinced him that he needed to apologise before they left, but as she looked over towards her son, she saw Walter pull Paige into a protective embrace. Her heart leapt. Maybe her son had finally found someone who could understand him, and maybe Paige could teach him to understand everyone else. She watched as Paige's shoulders began to shake and Walter wrapped his arms even tighter around her. She gripped her husband's arm.

"Look." She pointed, "Look at your son. He's in pain, and you're taking yours out on him."

"He's just doing what he thinks will make her feel better. He said it himself, he doesn't have feelings."

"Oh don't start that again. Look at you son! Look at him." Walter's mother moved closer, dragging her husband behind her, "He's trying so hard to be brave, and you're not making it any easier."

"Can we just go, please?"

"No. You're apologising to our son."

"Can I just call him later?"

Walter's mother stalked away towards her son and his father followed, exasperated. She slowed down just before she reached them, however, as she saw Ralph run up to Walter. Walter let go of Paige and knelt down at eye level with Ralph. She was close enough that she could hear him.

####SHUTDOWN####

"Hey buddy. How're you doing?"

"I'm fine."

Walter laughed, "Yeah, I'm fine too. So is your mother. We're all fine today."

"Yeah," Ralph smiled and Walter ruffled his hair.

"Maybe when we get back to the Garage I'll find some complex math problems for you to solve while you're at your Dad's, how does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful Walter, but you don't have to do that," Paige said.

"I know," Walter glanced up at her and she smiled; the first genuine smile she'd shed in days. He smiled back and stood up, hands on Ralph's shoulders. Then Ralph did something unpredictably emotional. He hugged Walter. Walter's eyes widened as he stood there, rigid for a split second. He readjusted his arms so they were around Ralph's back, and Paige leant on Walter as she rested her hand next to Walter's on her son's shoulder-blade.

####SHUTDOWN####

"You see that? He has feelings." They walked forward and she put her hand on her son, "Hey sweetheart. Your father just wanted to apologise for what he said earlier. Don't you?" She stared daggers at her husband.

"Uh… yeah," Walter's father started to speak, and then he noticed that Walter's hand had unconsciously moved closer to Paige's, but his eyes were still locked on him, and he was tugging Ralph closer, trying to put space between Ralph and his father.

"Don't you, dear?" Walter's mother turned insistently.

"Walter…" He tried to hide the hurt in his voice, "Walter, I'm not going to hurt the kid."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Walter said defensively.

"I'm not going to hurt… Ralph, was it?" He smiled at the boy, "Okay? I'm sorry, son. I didn't mean what I said, I just… I'm just struggling with the loss, and I shouldn't have taken that out on you."

"Well, thanks." Walter spoke abruptly, "But I don't care."

"Walter–"

"No, Mother, I don't."

"Walter," Paige started, but his other hand was now around her waist and she swallowed against the sudden rush of warmth that hit her. She felt instantly better as he stood protectively beside her, standing up for her son despite his own grief.

"I have spent years wondering why you didn't like me. I developed unhealthy relationships with everyone around me because of what you did. When Ralph's father came back I was terrified that he would be the same, so despite my personal dislike for the man, I tried my hardest to help them connect because I never wanted Ralph to go through what I had to," the words were pouring out of him now, "Do you have any idea what it's like growing up a genius in a world that doesn't understand you? It's horrible. Part of me wonders if I'd be better at handling my EQ if you'd at least made some semblance of an effort. But you never did, and Mother was always so scared to even mention it. So I grew up despising myself, believing that no-one would ever care about me. Megan helped me get through that, and since I met Paige and her son, my life actually had a purpose, because I will never let somebody be treated that way again. Not if it kills me."

"Son, I…"

"You're right, Father. I haven't been your son for years." Walter said, finality in his voice, and let go of Ralph and Paige, walking away. Paige looked after him, but Cabe was already running towards him, so she stayed with her son, and looked up at Walter's parents. His mother looked devastated and Paige looked at her sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry Mrs O'Brien."

"No dear, it's fine. Out of all of us, he was hit hardest by this. And it's not as though his father didn't deserve it." She glared at her husband in disdain and he rubbed his temples, looking guilty.

"He's a good man, Paige." He spoke up suddenly, "He clearly loves you and your son. Just don't… don't hurt him. He's had enough of that."

Paige didn't know how to respond, so for the umpteenth time that day, she opened her mouth, shut it, and just nodded. Mrs O'Brien stepped forward.

"He's lucky to have you dear." She patted Paige's cheek then ruffled Ralph's hair, "and you."

The couple wandered back to the car as fog began to envelope the cemetery. Paige stole one last glance at Megan's grave before meeting everyone back at the car. Cabe and Walter were nowhere to be seen. She silently sat in the driver's seat and Toby swung in behind her, "What was all that about?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Paige said. Sylvester was the last person in the van as the door slammed shut.

"Because of the argument that was clearly happening, or because Walter spent the entire argument with his hand around your waist?"

"I don't want to talk about Toby." She was almost yelling as she put the van into first gear and skidded onto the road. Toby sat back quietly and shared awkward glances with Happy and Sly.


	6. Fallout

**OH. My. GOD. That episode this week made me have a heart attack. Just a quick mention because I have to, so ~SPOILERS~ but more than any other part of the episode, more than the train uncoupling moment, more than the slap, the most heartwarming/breaking moment for me was when Walter and Ralph were working together and Walter said "That's my boy" and Paige looked so proud of both of them. I couldn't deal! Also, everything Waige in that episode just straight up killed me. And Quintis is back on! I'm dead. Oh my gosh. THE FANDOM IS TOO REAL.**

 **Anyway, now that the fangirling is over, I hope you enjoy my story, I have loved writing it. So you've probably noticed that Ray isn't in this story. I only write for characters once I'm 100% certain what they'll do or say in any given situation, and because Ray is new I don't trust myself to believably write for him yet. So in this story, he's gone to stay with his firefighter friend (who died)'s family to apologise and give them the medal (I'm assuming this story happens sometime after that episode).**

* * *

The next day, everyone had a day off. Well, that's what they were calling it. What had actually happened was Cabe, storming in with authority that morning and demanding that for once they all go home and just rest. They had all been through a lot, and he was just worried about them, but he kind of scared them when he was that authoritative, and they all secretly wanted to be in bed, sleeping, or crying or something other than work. Work might have been Walter's coping mechanism, but it wasn't anyone else's. So Happy and Toby walked out together and Cabe followed. Paige had been intending to leave as well, but something stopped her. The Garage was completely empty; Sylvester hadn't even come in that morning and Ray was, as far as she knew, on holiday, and had been for over a week. She hadn't seen Walter, and it was early, so she assumed he was asleep, but when she went up to check on him, she found the door to his bedroom slightly ajar.

To avoid walking in on him half naked, she knocked on the door and called his name softly. There was no reply, so she crept slightly into the room, poking her head around the corner. Walter was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring into the box of tokens he kept of everyone. Paige had heard of the box from Megan, but she'd never seen it, and she was immensely curious about its contents. She stepped closer and saw her nametag from when she'd worked at the diner. She thought she'd lost that ages ago. Ralph's diner made chess pieces were in there too; a salt shaker and a couple of sugars, propped up against a motel key. She leaned closer and saw who each item represented: Happy, Toby, Sly, Cabe, Ralph and herself; but she couldn't see anything for Megan. Which was when she realised that in Walter's quivering hands was the letter he got from the hospital the day he smashed his mug. The one telling him that Megan's condition was getting worse. Paige sat down tentatively next to him and put her hand over his, making it still.

"Don't put that in the box." She said quietly, unsure if he could even hear her.

"Why not." He asked stiffly, lips barely moving as he stared at the white paper.

"Because it's going to constantly remind you of how sick she was before she died."

"That's what all the rest of these are; Sly's motel key when he was at the worst point in his life, your diner badge before you got a job with us and came into money, and… Megan's letter. What's different?"

"Walter," Paige paused as she noticed Walter's thumb run absentmindedly over her knuckles, "you know exactly what's different. You helped Sly, and me and everyone, but putting a letter into that box about Megan's sickness is only going to remind you that, from your point of view, you failed."

"And didn't I?" He said, standing up and walking out. He let go of her hand and she was forced to follow him. She turned the tables, stepping ahead of him, grabbing his hand back and sitting down on the couch beside his desk, refusing to get up. He sighed down at her and she glared.

"No. No, Walter, you didn't. You might not have cured your sister's MS, but you made her quality of life infinitely better. She would have been utterly miserable without you."

"And what if… What if I'd spent less time with you, or Ralph… or less time with my ex-girlfriend… or less time as Scorpion… could I have saved her?" He still hadn't taken a seat, nervously stepping from foot to foot, hand hanging loosely in hers. She tugged downwards and he flopped down next to her, letter in hand.

"We'll never know Walter. But she didn't want you to save her. She knew she was going to die, and she was okay with it. She loved you so much. Don't deny yourself anything because you believe you could have prevented something inevitable. She just wanted you to be happy, and I know you. You will deny yourself happiness in any way you can because you don't believe you deserve it, but you do Walter. You deserve to be happy, and you deserve, for once in your life, to think about yourself, and take things at your own pace. No-one is going to rush you back to work, no-one is going to force you to confront your emotions, and no-one is going to blame you, because it wasn't your fault. She knew you were trying, and that was all that mattered to her. In her last few years, she made the most out of life. You introduced her to the man she fell in love with. You introduced her to me…" Paige knew she was going to cry, so she took a deep breath, "and I will always be thankful of you for that, because she was one of my closest friends. We all loved Megan, Walter. Maybe not quite as much, or for quite as long as you, but we all did, and none of us are blaming you, or ourselves. Because that's life; sometimes you can't prevent it when it inescapably comes to an end."

Walter turned and stared at her, eyes wide. She frowned slightly, "What?"

"I don't know, I just… I hadn't thought about it like that."

"That's because you don't think about yourself enough Walter. You're so focussed on saving everyone else that you forget that you're a person too. Be selfish for once."

Both of them sat there in silence, recalling the last time she'd said that to him – after he'd uncoupled the train. Paige felt the anxiousness squirming in her belly as she recalled the terror she felt thinking she was never going to see him again. Walter remembered the certainty he'd felt back then – knowing that if he sacrificed himself, he could save them. He would have done anything to save them. What Paige didn't realise at the time was that it wasn't the greater good theory in practice; he just couldn't bear to live in a world without Paige and Ralph. In all honesty, his decision hadn't had anything to do with anyone else on the train. Much as he wanted to save everyone, he had thought only of them when he lied to them to get them onto the second carriage.

Unthinkingly, Walter let go of the letter, letting it float slowly to the ground as he focussed all of his energy on the place where his skin met Paige's. She was worried again: worried that she might never feel the vibration of her heart when he touched her ever again. Her heart was still except for its routine beating, and it freaked her out. She wondered if that was how Walter felt before she arrived – just numb all over. It terrified her that anyone could spend so long untainted by emotions, neither good nor bad. Her fingers tightened over his and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was looking down at her knees, her brow crinkled in the same expression she wore whenever she said goodbye to Ralph when he was spending time with Drew. It was… concern, more than worry – tinged with hope.

"What if I put in this?" He reached across her to his desk and pulled out another letter, "It's from Megan."

"What does it say?"

Walter shot a nervous glance at her and huffed, "It's the last… uh, l-letter that she wrote me before, uh…Well. She wr-wrote it in c-case of…"

Paige shook her head, "You don't have to read it to me. I'm sorry, I..."

"No, no I w-want to," He sat back on the couch, "Dear little bro. I wish that you weren't reading this, because it means that I'm not here anymore. But that's okay. I'm okay Walter. I've known it was coming for a long time. I was never going to live as long as you, but I at least hoped that I could live long enough to see you man up and tell Paige how you feel. If I haven't, I'm sending you serious hate from the grave right now," Walter paused and Paige laughed, "Because that's something you should have done a long time ago. Basically what I'm saying is, you're in love with Paige. I know, I know, the great Walter O'Brien, marred by emotions. But listen to me; as the big sister, I know some stuff that you don't, much as it pains you to believe it. I know way more about emotions than you do. You adore Ralph, and I can see how much agony it causes you when he stays with Drew, but you're gonna have to get over that. Don't be an idiot, you irritating genius. Ralph loves you too, and even though neither of you really understand it, love isn't just a collection of chemicals in the brain. Maybe the initial reaction is – your heart skipping a beat, wanting to sing songs all the time. Love, little bro, is being willing to lay your life down for someone, willing to do things you hate for them, willing to change for them, but not expecting anything from them. A truly good relationship is both of you, believing those things – both willing to change, but neither expecting the other to do so. And Paige loves you. She really, really does. Tell Paige I'm sorry if I stole her thunder; maybe she wanted to tell you herself."

Paige smiled shyly through her tears, but her heart was racing, and she couldn't take her eyes off Walter's shaking arm. "So could the two of you please grow the hell up and just make out behind your rocket already?"

Walter took a breath, and it was then that Paige noticed the tear tracks down his cheeks, "Sylvester is going to be hurting when I go. He loved me you know. And I loved him too. I need you to tell Sylvester, just in case I didn't get a chance to; tell him that I love him too, and I want him to be happy. And I bought him a _Super Fun Guy Behind the Scenes_ ticket. I might have given it to him by now, I'm not sure when I'll die. But I'm getting weaker and weaker, and I want to write this now, before I can't write anymore. I want to tell Paige that she's the closest thing to a sister I've ever had, and I would have been lucky to have her in the family. To be fair, she would be pretty lucky to have me as well." Paige laughed again, but now she was crying harder and Walter's facial expression was breaking her heart.

"Tell Toby to never change. I know you hate that expression, because change is inevitable, but Toby will know what I mean. Tell Happy to woman up and either accept or reject Toby, because it's killing him not knowing where he stands with her. Tell Cabe that I said to take care of you, and if he doesn't, I will haunt the hell out of him from beyond the grave. Tell Ralph that I am gonna miss him so much. He is so much like you were when you were younger. You make such a good father to him Walter, even if you're not his actual father. Maybe you should think about having some children of your own after I'm gone. Obviously, don't tell that to Paige, because she'll freak out… Paige, I don't want you to have babies with Walter right now, I just want you both to be happy! But, I suppose I should finish writing this letter soon, because I'm getting a bit rambly and repetitive. I will never stop believing that you can do anything that you set your mind to, and even though you didn't find a cure for me, I don't want you to stop looking. There are other people out there with brothers and sisters and friends and parents who are suffering, and I know you can help. Never, ever, ever, stop helping people. But once a day, for five minutes, take some time to just think about yourself. Think about Paige and Ralph and how much you love them. Think about how much you need Cabe. Think about Sylvester and Toby and Happy and how much they'd miss you if you were gone. And then, the next time you're in a risky situation, remember that it's okay to be selfish. Be selfish for five minutes a day Walter. Let yourself feel the emotions that you don't want to let in. I don't want to have to haunt you too. Because haunting takes amazing coordination and dexterity and grace and the ability to inspire fear, and I just don't have any of that. I love you, little bro. I always will. Be good to yourself. Be good to everyone else. And take Paige dancing. For me. For me, take Paige dancing, so that I can die happy. I love you. I need you to know that. I need you to understand that even though I'm gone and you don't believe in heaven, or anything after death, I need you to understand that despite the fact that I am dead, I will never stop loving you."

The silence hung heavily in the air, filling up the space between them and making them both hot under the collar. Paige shifted awkwardly in her seat. Her mind was racing to connect the dots, to figure out where Walter was in his head.

"Walter?" She asked.

He looked over at her, tears rushing out of his eyes, trailing down his cheeks and sinking into his shirt. She squeezed his hand and leaned over. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her other hand around his arm, bringing her legs up and curling into him.

"I think you should put that one in the box."


	7. Repairs

**Okay, so this one is a long one, but I didn't want to divide it into two, because it needed to flow. This will have a bit of Waige fluff, but don't worry, I kept it classy... mostly. O.o  
** **Anyway, this is the last full chapter of this story, because I feel that everyone's emotional arcs are complete, and I don't want to milk it any more than I already have, but I will be posting an epilogue of the whole team in the diner - they started this together, and they will end this together. Thank you all for your amazing, fabulous, heartwarming reviews. Sadistic as it is, I loved hearing that I made a few of you cry, because if I hadn't, the writing was probably not good enough. I adore you all, and I'm so sad that this story is coming to an end.**

* * *

Walter woke up in an incredibly uncomfortable position. His neck was bent against the arm of the couch and there was something on top of him. He cracked open one eye and the sunlight burst into his vision. He quickly shut it again and sighed. He felt whatever was on top of him move slightly, and then the events of the night before came rushing back to him.

 _Reading Megan's letter. Crying… crying in front of Paige… Paige falling asleep on his arm… Putting the letter in the box… trying not to wake up Paige as he crept downstairs… the banging of his rocket waking her up… Paige coming downstairs and watching him work on the rocket, checking her phone for messages from Ralph… Walter talking to her about Drew… Paige asking him if he'd seen Die Hard yet… Paige pulling out a laptop and making them sit back down on the couch… John McClane beating up bad guys… Walter pointing out the scientific inaccuracies of the film… Paige rolling her eyes snuggling back into the position she'd been in that morning… Walter trying to carry her to bed, and Paige sitting up… Paige sleepily reaching out to grab him, pulling him back to the couch and lying back down on his arms… Him being comfortable just sitting there… Him slowly falling asleep…_

He tried opening his eyes again and found that it was easier this time. It was Thursday. An entire week had passed since Megan had died. He braced himself for the realisation of her death to hit him like a freight train, like it had done every day this week, but the train missed the station. He still felt the loss, but there was no agonising crash, or mental derailing. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, being careful not to wake Paige. Her head was resting on his chest, arms under her, and it occurred to him that when she woke up, the way she was sleeping, she would definitely be uncomfortable. He gently wrapped his fingers around her wrists and moved them out from under her. He tried to be as soft as possible, but Paige stirred and he cursed internally.

"Sorry, go back to sleep."

"No…" She murmured softly, "I'm okay, I am awake now."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, I just… your arms were under you. You were crushing your nerves, causing them to be unable to send signals, meaning that when you eventually got off your arms, there would be an influx of signals, causing discomfort."

"What?" Not awake enough yet to understand what he meant.

"If I didn't move your arms, you were going to get pins and needles."

"Oh." Paige chuckled drowsily. She put her hands down either side of Walter on the couch and looked up at him from her place on his chest, with no intention of moving.

"Are you okay?" Walter asked.

"Seriously?" Paige grumbled good-naturedly, "We talked about this yesterday. Stop asking if I'm okay all of the time and think about yourself once in a while." She put her head back down.

"Okay… I'm fine, are you okay?"

Paige laughed into his shirt and he felt warmth spread from the place where her laugh had hit him. He could feel it again, when she touched him. Making her happy made him feel better. He sunk back down into the chair and found himself stroking her hair.

"Aren't you uncomfortable sitting in that position? You neck is at a funny angle." Paige peeked at him through her lashes.

"Nope." Walter said. His neck was back in the position it had been when he woke up, but it didn't matter. He felt better than he'd felt since before he heard the dreadful news. The throbbing ache of loss was still residing somewhere in his abdomen, but right now, Paige was lying on top of him, and something about that just made it easier to ignore. He knew what Toby would say. He would say that-

"Oh, yes! Look at the two lovebirds snuggled up on the couch!" Toby's voice burst through his peaceful reverie.

Walter immediately froze, but Paige's hand, the one on the side that Toby couldn't see, moved up his arm to his elbow and he relaxed. He looked worriedly down at Paige, anxious that she would be embarrassed or upset at Toby's intrusion, but she didn't even open her eyes as she said, "Shut up Toby. I'm sleeping."

"Oh no, you're not getting out of this that easily!"

"Yes I am." Paige said, and tucked her head further into Walter's chest.

"Walter?" Happy was downstairs looking for them.

"Happy, they're up here! Bring a camera!" Toby yelled gleefully. Walter glared at Toby, hate spewing from his eyes, but Toby was too excited to notice. Walter had half a mind to get up and launch himself at the psychoanalyst, but he didn't want to disturb the tired woman on top of him, so he stayed where he was, annoyance radiating through him. Paige exhaled through her nose, this time not from frustration, as it had been the last few days, but in the usual fashion of waking up and smiling at the new day.

"Whoa. What did you guys get up to last night?" Happy's tone was more subdued that Toby's, but Paige could tell how amused she was by this. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the couch. Walter tried to hide his disappointment.

"Alright idiots, show is over. Go back to work. Or go home. Or just… you know what? Let's get lunch." Paige changed tactics right in the middle of scolding the two geniuses. They looked at her blankly, "No seriously. Let's call up Sly and get him out of the house, bring Cabe along, invite Ray if he's available. Ralph gets back this afternoon. So let's have a late lunch somewhere. As a team. I think we all really need this right now. Whaddya reckon?"

"Uh… yeah, actually I agree." Toby tilted his head the way he usually did when he was thinking psychologically.

"Always the tone of surprise Toby." Paige nodded slyly and Happy grinned.

"I'm in." She said, "I'll go pick up Sly."

Toby turned suddenly, "I'll come!" He said quickly, and trailed after her down the stairs. Walter and Paige glanced at each other.

"Do you think…?" Paige asked.

"No." Walter said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure, because…?"

"No." Walter stood up, "Absolutely not."

"Seriously though, we wouldn't have noticed in the past couple of days… What if…?"

"Oh god," Walter rolled his eyes and leant on his desk, "I don't think I want to go to this lunch."

"Yes you do." Paige flashed him a wolfish grin.

"W-why is that?" Walter's stance changed; he sat up straighter and he rubbed his neck.

"Well," Paige said, walking forward, "Ralph will be there, and he's really missed you." She was by his side now, "And, Sly will be there, and we really need to cheer him up, like Megan said," She intertwined her fingers with his, "And I want to figure out if Happy and Toby really are a thing," she leaned in closer, "And…" She was millimetres from his face, lips nearly brushing against his, eyes close enough to see the fear and excitement in both of their eyes.

"Hey! Where is everyone?" Cabe's husky voice rasped loudly up the stairs.

Paige took a step back and Walter slumped, "Are you kidding me?" He grumbled, and leaned over the railing, "Happy and Toby have gone to pick up Sly. We're getting lunch."

"Where's Paige?"

Walter rolled his eyes in Paige's direction, asking her a silent question. She stepped forward. "I'm up here. We're trying to work out where Ray would be." Paige said, her cheek flushed, hoping Cab wouldn't notice. He did, of course, but he didn't say anything.

"Actually, Cabe, I have an idea of where he might be. If I give you his address could you pick him up?" Walter said, writing something down on a scrap of paper.

"Seriously? I am an agent of Homeland Security. I do not go and pick people up for lunch, particularly, and this is the important part – people I don't like."

"There will be steak." Walter screwed up the paper in his hand and pegged it at the government agent. He swiped it out of the air and stared at the address.

"We'll be there at two." Cabe growled, and strode to the car. Once he had left the garage, Paige sighed.

"I guess I'll go home and get changed. Drew will be bringing Ralph by soon, and I should probably be there when he arrives."

"Oh." He looked agitated.

"I'm coming back, Walter."

"I know." He started hopping from foot to foot, unsure where to put his weight. He wrung his hands.

"What?" Paige asked, already halfway to the stairs.

"I just, uh…" Walter trailed off and Paige hovered before the stairway expectantly. Walter's mind cleared and he closed the distance between them in two strides.

His lips crashed into hers and it took her a moment to adjust. Her eyes closed automatically as his hands found her waist. She took a step back and hit the railing, and his hand moved up her back between her shoulder-blades. She gasped as he kissed her harder; there were fireworks going off in her brain. She'd spent the past week being terrified she'd never feel her heart skip when he touched her again. She needn't have worried. At this point, every inch of her was touching him, and she was pretty sure her heart had just given up and stopped. Paige's arms ran up his chest and around his neck and he broke away from her lips. She nearly dragged him back, until she realised he was just moving to kiss her elsewhere. He kissed slowly along her jaw and she couldn't help the tiny sound that escaped her. Her fingers tangled in his dark hair as he grazed her collarbone with his lips. She drew his head back up and kissed him steadily, her hands enclosing his cheeks and the kiss became less urgent. Walter's hand around her waist slid up to her neck and his thumb brushed across her skin, setting fire to whatever it touched. When the kiss ended, their breathing was ragged and they didn't step apart. His hands didn't move from her, and somehow hers had found themselves in his hair again. They perched there, completely still except for the rise and fall of their chests, and the flutter of Paige's heart, which must have restarted at some point during the altercation. Walter's forehead pressed against hers and she took a moment to gather her thoughts, which she'd left behind when his hands reached her waist.

"Walter…?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did that come from?" She murmured softly, swollen lips glancing across his again.

"Not sure." He muttered, "Perhaps it came from the same place you found it when you slapped me after the train derailed."

"Was that Walter O'Brien talking about emotions? Admitting that he has them, perhaps?"

"Nope."

"No?" She asked, and felt Walter smile into her cheek.

"Of course not."

####SHUTDOWN####

When Paige arrived at her apartment, she managed to get changed quicker than she'd ever done before. Walter had decided that rather than Paige using a separate car to drive home and pick up Ralph, he would just drive them. It was, he said, more efficient. She assumed it was his own way of being romantic, of telling her, without saying it, that he would protect them – he would think more about himself, and her. She couldn't argue with his logic, but she could hear him outside her bedroom door, tapping around with something in her kitchen.

"You know I could fix this, right?" He yelled through the door.

"Fix what?" Paige slid on her shoes.

Walter had already taken the machine off the wall, and he was crouching beside the kitchen bench, looking into the vent. "The calibration of your air conditioner is wrong. I could fix this in two minutes."

Paige smiled as she towel-dried her hair, but she stayed silent, knowing that Walter wasn't finished.

"Actually, I could always take it apart and leave it for Ralph to put back together."

"That's a good idea. Maybe you could do it together?" Paige walked out of her room and Walter glanced at her, glanced back at the machine, and his eyes widened. He tried to stand and smacked his head on the countertop.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Paige asked. She knew what had caused his distraction; she was wearing the same red blouse and black skirt combination she'd worn when she taught him to flirt.

"Oh, yeah, just perfect." Walter noted sardonically, but he still hadn't taken his eyes off her. He rubbed his head and she stepped closer to examine it. She stroked his hair aside as she checked what was fast becoming an egg.

"Well, you've hit your head, but there's no open wound, and as far as I can tell from here, no lasting damage. Your IQ is intact." She said. It was only then that she became aware of where they were. Walter was standing in her kitchen, staring at her with that inscrutable look in his eyes and she was leaning way too close for innocence. She frowned and the look in his eyes changed.

"What?"

"Nothing." Paige said.

"That look is not nothing Paige."

"I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Worried about me?" Walter scoffed, "I'm fine."

"That's the problem. You shouldn't be fine. You should be curled up somewhere, frozen, or blindly working on a machine. I know you. You drove off a cliff because you thought Ralph and I weren't coming back and Cabe betrayed you. How are you fine right now, when the worst thing that's ever happened to you only happened a week ago?"

"I… I… don't know." Walter shrugged.

"Walter?" Paige could see the cogs in his brain working. She waited for the inevitable lightbulb to switch on. He stood up straighter and the corners of her lips turned upwards, ready for his response.

"It's you."

That threw her. She swallowed and he caught her elbow as she took a half-step backwards.

"You make it easier. You made me confront emotions I didn't want to confront, you made me eat when I didn't want to, you made me realise that I was being…"

"Stubborn?" Paige offered.

He grinned, "Stubborn. I just… I didn't realise how much I needed you, until this morning, when I woke up and realised something."

"What?" Their voices were both softer now, as they leaned on each other against the counter that, just moments ago, had caused Walter's bruise.

"I realised that I spent all day with you yesterday, and I didn't freak out. I watched a movie with a lot of scientific errors and a loud protagonist, I read and reread Megan's letter, and I was okay. You were okay too. You didn't cry after I put the letter in the box, and you seemed relaxed, as far as my instincts on emotional cues could tell, which are not always… uh, accurate." He shifted his hand from her elbow up her shoulder, and his other hand crept around her hips, dangerously low. She shivered as the cool air blew in from the window and hit her moisture laden hair, sweeping it into her face.

"I don't know," She breathed, "I think you're getting better at working out emotional cues."

Yeah?" It wasn't really a question. Walter's eyes closed as soon as his lips touched hers. His hand at her hip tugged at the red blouse tucked into her black skirt, trying to move it out of his way. She shuddered again as Walter's hand found her bare skin. He stopped for a split section as he mentally checked that she was okay, but she clutched his shirt in her fists and strained to pull him closer than he already was. He didn't seem to have any problem unfreezing as his hand crept up under her shirt. He didn't go anywhere near her bra-strap, or further down, he just stroked across her spine and she kissed him unyieldingly.

When they heard the latch of the door turning, they sprang apart. Paige ran into her room to put on some make-up and calm down, and Walter immediately knelt back down beside the air conditioner, being careful not to move to close to the counter. Ralph bounded through the door, expecting his mother, but when he saw Walter, he stopped dead in his tracks, his face split in a Cheshire cat grin.

"Hey buddy!" Walter said, trying to sound pleased to see Ralph without giving away the fact that he was panting and his shirt was wrinkled from Paige. He quickly patted down his shirt before standing up properly, "Did you know the AC was out?"

"Yeah."

"Why haven't you done anything about it?" Walter looked bemused.

"Because I thought if I left it long enough, Mom would notice, and ask you to fix it, and then you could come over and play video games again." Ralph answered slowly. Drew was standing in the doorway, and his face darkened when he heard Ralph talk about inviting Walter over.

Walter crossed his arms and tried to be as authoritative as possible, "You shouldn't ignore your gift just so you can play video games with me. You know that I'll beat you any day of the week if you just ask."

"As if! My high score is higher than yours." Ralph smirked and crouched down at the radiator, twiddling some knobs and putting the cover back on, "There, done."

Walter ruffled the kid's hair and refrained from saying _that's my boy_ as Paige emerged, for the second time, from her room. She had put some lipstick and mascara on, and redone her hair. It was now hanging, dry, at her shoulders. Walter was still floored by how beautiful she looked.

"Hey Ralph!" She rushed over and gave him a hug, "Walter wants to take the two of us to lunch with the team. Whaddya think?"

"It's nearly 2 o'clock. By the time we get there it will be 2:30."

"Yep. It's a late lunch buddy." Walter said.

"Oh. Okay."

Drew was still glowering in the doorway, and Paige turned and saw him. She smiled, and Walter's heart sank slightly, though he knew it was irrational.

"Thank you Drew. I really appreciate you taking care of Ralph for the week."

"No worries Paige. Anytime you need me, let me know." Drew said, shooting a furtive glance at Walter. He clearly felt jealous of the genius, and while Walter was ignorant of Drew's glares, too engrossed in chatting to Ralph about video game strategy, Paige noticed, and immediately bristled. She stretched herself up to her full height and Drew shrunk back slightly, worrying he was going to get an earful again. But Paige merely glided over to Walter and bent down to talk to Ralph. She whispered something in his ear and Ralph ran towards his father. While Drew was distracted, Paige kissed Walter on the cheek, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Drew's scowl grow yet deeper.

"What was that for?" Walter asked.

"I don't know," Paige said, slipping her wrist into the crook of his arm, "I'm just… sorry… about all of this. None of this should have had to happen to you. I couldn't imagine this stuff happening to a less deserving person." He started to walk towards the door and she grinned at his side, "Besides, the look on Drew's face when I kissed your cheek is enough to make anyone's day."

Walter couldn't wipe the look of shock and immense amusement off his face as the odd family walked towards the car, leaving Drew irritated and alone by his car, wallowing in self-pity.


	8. Okay

**Wow guys, this wonderful journey has come to an end. I have absolutely loved writing this story, despite the fact that I made myself cry at times. Thank you all so much for your fantastic feedback, it's been absolutely invaluable, and I adore you all. Thank you for taking the time to read this.**

 **If you have any requests, or ideas, just PM me, or hit up my author page for my other means of communication, because I would love to write whatever you suggest, as long as it's doable. I hope you like this epilogue. Much love, Lady T.**

* * *

When the three of them arrived at the diner that Paige used to work at, Cabe and Ray were ordering. Happy and Toby, who already had their meals, were chatting on the other side of the booth and trying to include Sylvester, but he seemed too sad to join in. Ralph sat down next to Sly and observed the menu. Paige slide in beside Ray and Walter flopped down next to her, reaching across her for a menu.

"God, I'm starving." He muttered and thumbed through the list of food.

"Me too." Paige said, and leaned into him to read the menu he was holding.

"Hi guys, can I get you anything?" A young girl of no more than 18 was hovering at the edge of the booth, staring expectantly at Walter. Walter glanced at Ralph.

"I'll get a burger. Paige, Ralph, what do you want?"

The girl waited patiently while the three of them ordered and then she smiled sweetly at them and walked towards the kitchen as Toby leaned forward.

"So," he started, "What have DID you two get up to yesterday?"

Walter had been worried that Toby would just know about the kiss that morning… and the one that afternoon – but he still seemed to be focussed entirely on what he believed to have happened the day before. He let out a tiny breath of relief, but Toby, in his infinite wisdom, caught it.

"Wait… you're relieved. You want me to talk about yesterday? Why?"

"Because nothing happened Toby." As Walter retorted, he put his hand on Paige's knee under the table. Paige stared straight ahead, giving no indication that anything had happened. Toby's gaze shifted from Paige to Walter and back again, but neither of them was giving anything away. He leant back in his seat and surveyed the whole table. Happy raised her eyebrows at him, but he shot her a look and she went right back to eating her eggs. Ray was scrutinising Walter, a tiny smile hiding in the corner of his mouth. Paige shifted in her seat slightly and Walter's arm shifted along with her. Toby's eyes widened, but Walter's facial expression hadn't changed, and Paige was watching Ralph trying to engage Sylvester.

"Walter?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you got the letter?" She asked, and he silently pulled it out of his pocket, passing it to her across the countertop. She put the letter in front of Sylvester and smiled sadly, "I think you should read this, Sly. A lot of it is for Walter, but on the second page, there's a message for you. These were her last written words. She would have wanted you to read them."

Sylvester glared down at the piece of crumpled paper in his hand, and then he stood up sharply and disappeared outside. Toby looked as though he was about to follow, but decided against it and started eating his sandwich, which had been sitting in front of him for ten minutes. Walter's hand caressed Paige's knee, and she cursed herself for ever wishing that his touch would ignite something in her again. Oh it was igniting something alright, but right now the skipping of her heart was inconvenient, as she knew Toby would notice the change in her complexion.

"So Ralphy-boy, what are you doing at school at the moment?" Ray asked.

"I'm reading my own books because I finished the classwork two weeks ago." Ralph noted nonchalantly and Ray nodded sagely, like he knew exactly what that was like.

"You're doing the right thing with that boy Paige. It really helps him to be part of this team."

Walter raised an eyebrow in shock at Ray, "That's the first time you've ever gotten their names right."

"I've always known what her name is, Wally."

"Uh. What?" Walter's eyebrows dropped into a scowl of confusion.

"I've always known what their names are. I was… experimenting."

"What kind of experiment involves deliberately forgetting people's names?" Walter asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose as their food arrived.

"The Ray kind." Ray said wisely.

The table fell silent for a few minutes as they all dug into their meals. Happy finished first, as hers had been the first to arrive before Paige, Walter and Ralph even arrived. Sylvester came back from the bathroom, tears streaming down his face, and handed the letter back to Walter. Walter shoved it into his pocket and Toby patted Sylvester on the shoulder.

"I'm okay." He slurred through his tears.

"Sly, I've seen okay people, and you are not what that looks like," Toby said.

"No. I mean, really. I'm really, really, okay. I'm still gonna be sad… for a long time… but I'm going to be fine. I'm okay." Sylvester nodded and wiped the last of his tears away with his sleeve as he started eating his meal, which was barely lukewarm. He didn't mind. He knew Megan loved him, and he loved her, even if she was gone. He wasn't like Walter. He could believe that she was still around; even if it was just in his heart and nowhere else.

Walter rubbed his hand through his hair absentmindedly and hit his bruise.

"Ah!" He groaned as he let the pain subside. Paige reached up and checked the lump on his head.

"Okay, so that's gotten slightly worse."

"Yeah, it's been hurting for a while."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Paige asked.

"Well, I was slightly preoccupied." Walter said. Paige gave him a confused look and was about to ask him how he was preoccupied, and then remembered exactly what they'd done right after his injury on the countertop. She flushed slightly and busied herself checking his head. She called for the waitress as Walter covered himself, "Fixing the AC. Right Ralph?"

Ralph tilted his head and stared at Walter, and then nodded, knowing that, for some reason, Walter wasn't telling the truth, but hoping that it was for a good reason.

"Hey, would you mind getting some ice from the back for me?" Paige asked the young waitress politely.

"Um," The girl shook her head, unsure, "I don't know if…"

"Oh, I know the owner, it's okay. Tell him that Paige would really like some ice, because the guy that fixed the wifi hurt his head."

The girl looked even more confused, but faded to the back as Paige finished her food and looked at Ray.

"So what did you mean? When you said it was a _Ray kind of experiment_ ," Paige queried, "Did you mean just, like, non-genius, or specifically something for YOU to figure out?"

"All of the above my good lady." Ray shoved a chip in his mouth, "And I'll tell you my findings in a moment, I'm still trying to work something out." He contemplatively shoved another fried potato stick through his lips, and Paige sighed with relief as the girl brought over some ice wrapped in a tea-towel. She thanked the girl and sat up on her haunches to reach the wound. Walter's hand slid off her knee and she was momentarily disappointed before she gently put the ice down over the injury. Walter winced, and his hands balled into fists.

"Walter, how much does that hurt?" Toby asked, back to doctor mode.

"About as much as it can possibly hurt when you crack your head on the corner of a stone countertop while trying to stand up." Walter said, scrunching his face against the pain.

"Okay, so injury happened, what, half an hour ago?"

"Yeah, about then."

"And you were how far away from the bench when you hit it?"

"A couple of inches below it."

"Alright, so it's unlikely you'll have a concussion unless you really rammed your head into it, and there's no reason you would have done that, so I conclude that you will be fine within a day or two."

"Define, _ramming_ one's head?" Paige asked, twinkling as Walter shot her a semi-irritated glance. She countered his look with one of her own, and he was suddenly struck with the memory of how quickly he'd tried to rise when Paige had entered the room.

"Standing up with enormous force, more than Walter could have exerted from that distance away from the bench." Toby sounded like he was reciting from a textbook.

"Sure about that?" Paige muttered under her breath, and Walter elbowed her. Her face was slowly going pink as she struggled to contain the mirth that was threatening to burst forth. He looked at her quizzically and she couldn't hold it in any longer. Laughter flew from her mouth, making her entire body rock. She was laughing so hard that she began to cry, and everyone stared at her. Sylvester was frozen with his fork halfway to his mouth, and Toby was frantically analysing her behaviour.

"I'm… so… sorry…" She gasped between fits of giggles, "It's just… you didn't see… Walter's face… when he hit his head…" She pursed her lips in an effort to keep the convulsions inside, but that only succeeded in giving her hiccups.

"Care to enlighten us kid?" Cabe asked, amused.

"I just… Oh my god… I can't believe… I'm so sorry Walter… It's my fault your head got worse…" She stared up at him through her mascara laden lashes, and he found himself smiling. Then his smile cracked as a chuckle shook through him. He was nowhere near as hysterical as Paige, but it was still funny. Pretty soon, though they had no idea what she was talking about, Toby and Sylvester had joined in, and Ray was chortling in the corner. Happy was sniggering through her fingers and Cabe was just staring at them all in bewilderment. He looked at Ralph; the only other person who wasn't tittering, and shook his head.

"What is going on?"

"Walter hit his head because of Mom. Mom then forgot all about his head injury, probably because I got home. So that's why Walter's head is worse than it should be." Ralph said matter-of-factly.

Paige had calmed slightly and she nodded, "Yeah. That's exactly what happened Ralph."

"But why are they all laughing?" Cabe asked.

Toby raised a hand, "I can answer that. We've all been so stressed for the past week and a half, that we needed an outlet for some pent up feelings. This often results in hysterical fits of laughter at meaningless things, or even for no reason at all."

Walter was still chuckling, but Toby stopped suddenly.

"How did you hit your head because of Paige?"

"What?" Walter asked.

"How did Paige make you hit your head?"

"She, uh…" Walter sighed, "She came out of her room just as I meant to stand up from the AC. I looked over and moved slightly, repositioning myself under the bench and hitting my head."

Walter could feel Toby dissecting him. It made him uncomfortable, but he shrugged it off and turned to Paige, "You're right, it is your fault that my head wound got worse." He couldn't help flashing back to her lips on his, and he swallowed.

"Is it?" Paige smirked, "Because I seem to recall you being the one who played the injury off like it was nothing." She recalled his hand under her shirt and his slow kisses down her neck, and she dug her nails into her palms.

"See, that's not how it happened." Walter counter argued. He remembered her fingers in his hair, and fistfuls of his shirt in her hands. His breath shook slightly before he regained his composure.

"I think it is." Paige said with finality. Walter was going to respond, but her hand was on his thigh under the table and he temporarily forgot how to form sentences. Both of them realised at the same time that the booth had fallen silent, and everyone was watching them curiously.

"What is it?" Walter asked.

"Oh, nothing." Toby said, "It's just that you two totally made out."

"At the very least." Happy added quietly, glancing at Ralph.

"Toby, would you please stop with the –"

"Nope. Sorry 197, you can't escape me now. I know I'm right this time. I mean, I'm always right, but I am especially right about this."

"And where is your proof?" Paige asked, annoyed, but smiling.

Walter propped himself up on his elbows on the table and impatiently waited Toby's verdict. Paige considered withdrawing her hand from Walter's leg, but she decided that in all honesty, she didn't care if Toby figured it out. It would be easier than telling them, or being caught kissing somewhere.

Toby opened his mouth to speak, but it was Ralph who answered the question.

"You were kissing just before I got home." He said.

"What?" Walter said instinctively. Toby's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he looked in awe from Ralph to Walter to Paige. Walter was staring, alarmed, at Ralph, and Paige aside from having turned a beautiful shade of pink, looked concerned.

"What are you talking about, baby?"

"I got out of the car first, because Dad wanted to call his work. So I walked over to the door, and I could see you through the curtain. You were kissing." He spoke like he was describing how an AC worked, or what he ate for breakfast that morning, "So I rattled the key in the lock, and Mom ran away."

Toby's eyes were as wide as saucers, practically glowing with glee. Happy was giving Paige some serious side eye, and Cabe was staring down at his hands, containing his own smile. Paige just looked worried.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked softly.

"I don't know. Dad was there, and I knew that you probably didn't want him to see you."

Toby kicked Walter under the table.

"Ah!" Walter reacted quite strongly as his shin began throbbing, and the ice fell off his head. Ray picked it up off the table and passed it to him, saying, "I knew you were dating the moment you sat down."

"What?!" Walter just couldn't seem to contain his confused outbursts today.

"For starters, you looked happy, Wally. People whose sisters have just died don't generally look that kind of happy. I mean, obviously you've had feelings for Paige for a while, but you're too stubborn, convinced that if you two got together, it would fall apart. So whenever I mentioned Paige or Ralph, I got their names wrong."

"And how is that relevant to… anything?" Walter rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Every time I got their names wrong, you got increasingly annoyed, whereas when I did it to the rest of the team, they corrected me a couple of times and then gave up. You just kept getting more and more irritated and I figured eventually something would snap and you'd be forced to confront your feelings." Ray finished his food, chomping down on the final chip and looking triumphant, "I told you. It was a _Ray_ kind of experiment."

Sylvester looked at Ray and nodded slowly, "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"I know, right?" Ray acknowledged.

Meanwhile, Walter and Paige were looking at each other, confirming the embarrassment of Ralph seeing them, and the relief of not having to tell everyone.

"So go on then! Details? What happened?" Toby asked excitedly.

"Of the first time, or just today?" Paige asked deviously. Walter paled.

"Uh, I don't think we need to talk about the first time."

"Basically," Paige said, ignoring him, "After Walter's first mission back, we decided that we wouldn't be together, to maintain the integrity of the team."

Toby sighed, "We know that part of the story. Boring!" Happy smacked him.

"And, uh, after everyone left that night, Walter pointed out that we hadn't tested our hypothesis. So, uh… we kissed."

"Walter O'Brien, you artful dodger! How on earth did you keep something like that from me for so long?"

Walter scratched his face, "Uh, because you were obsessing over Happy so much you didn't notice we were acting abnormal."

Toby feigned a punch to the stomach, "Oooh, low blow Walter. Low blow."

"And you didn't kiss at all in between then and today?" Happy looked unconvinced.

"Nope." Paige said confidently.

"How on earth did it end up happening?" Cabe asked.

"It just… happened," Paige glanced at Walter and he intertwined his fingers with hers on top of his leg.

"Right. And you thought that your apartment, after Walter hit his head on a countertop, was a great place for a second first kiss?" Toby laughed.

Paige gave an internal sigh of relief as she realised that nobody would know about their real second first kiss. Walter squeezed her hand and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yep." She answered, and Toby began howling with laughter, "mainly because I came out of my room wearing nice clothes and he smacked his head when he saw me."

Toby was laughing harder, and now Happy and Cabe were smiling like crazy people. Sylvester looked cheered up as he reached across the table and clapped Walter across the arm, "I'm happy for you Walter. Megan always wanted you two to get together."

"We know." The couple answered at the same time, and they looked at each other, nearly oblivious to the exuberant Toby and the ecstatic team.

####SHUTDOWN####

Everyone left the booth long after lunch should have ended, about 4:30. Outside the diner, Toby, filled with self-confidence, turned to Happy.

"Hey Happy, do you wanna get some dinner with me tonight?" He asked boldly. Happy stared at him open mouthed as everyone else watched on. She blinked hard and shut her mouth.

"Uh. Yeah, okay."

Cabe and Sylvester high-fived Ralph. Ray wasn't there to enjoy it as he was still inside, paying for his meal.

They were all so busy observing the wonderfully awkward spectacle of working out dinner reservations in front of them that they didn't think to look behind them, where Walter and Paige were standing.

"Are you okay?" Walter asked, and Paige rolled her eyes.

"Are _you_ okay?" She countered, and he pulled her closer, pressing his forehead to hers and locking his hands together behind her waist.

"Sometimes." He said.

When he kissed her, she didn't object, despite the fact that she knew it was nearly impossible for the team not to notice. Her hands found his face and his hair, but she was careful not to touch his bruise. This kiss was more PG rated, slow, and deliberate. They knew they'd have time for the other kind later. Right now they just needed to be closer, using the kiss as a way to share their thoughts without speaking. When the kiss ended, neither of them moved, until they noticed Ray standing in the doorway of the diner, having just left.

"Yeah, kiss her Wally!" He yelled, in typical Ray fashion. Everyone turned and saw the two of them standing there, wrapped up in each other, and Walter sighed and dropped his head slightly.

"This is going to be awful, isn't it?" He said, as everyone began cheering and wolf-whistling.

"Oh, I don't know. I could think of a few reasons it's not." Paige said, and pulled him in for another kiss, this time unabashedly, in front of the whole team, so everyone knew exactly where they stood. Cabe covered Ralph's eyes, but Ralph wasn't interested anyway. He'd just seen a shorting fuse box across the road and he had a deep desire to fix it.

"I change my answer." Walter murmured against her lips.

"Hmm?"

"This is going to be fine. We're all going to be okay." And though his heart ached at the thought of never seeing Megan again, his stomach was doing flips at the thought of spending nights with Paige in the garage, and days with Ralph playing video games.

"Just as long as we don't kiss too much in front of Ralph." Paige said.

She felt Walter smile as he answered, "I only state facts," he kissed her cheek, "and I can say with absolutely certainty," He kissed her on the other cheek, "that I can't make any promises." His lips met hers and he was pretty sure, however irrational it was, that Megan could see them.

And wherever she was, she was dancing.


End file.
